Braixen's new feelings
by FriggaN
Summary: After the gang got sepreated after the Pangoro attack. Ash and Braixen end up together and have to find a way back to the others. However after this journey together Braixen sees Ash in a new light and hopes to get to know more about him.


" " = Human speech

' ' = Human thoughts

 _'pokemon thoughts'_

" _Pokemon speech"_

While traveling along route 14 on their way to Laverre city where Ash can battle for his sixth gym badge, they decided to take a break and relax for a bit. The weather is warmer than usual and they instruct their pokemon to make sure they drink a lot of water for when they continue their journey.

"It looks like it will be another hot day today" Clemont said wiping sweat from his forehead and sighing.

"Hang in there Clemont it could be a lot worse" Ash noted with a smile while giving Pikachu some water to drink. While those two conversed about the weather Bonnie walked over to Serena to see what she was doing. She and Braixen were looking at Serena's map device.

"What are you doing Serena?" She asked playfully.

"I'm looking up what my fortune is going to be for today, lets see. My fortune for today

 _Trouble awaits you_ , huh what does that mean?" She said with a concerned face.

 _I wonder if it can look up mine'_ Braixen thought looking curiously at the screen. Serena looked back and saw the expression on Braixens face and understood that she wanted her fortune told too. "Lets see Braixen, from what I could gather from Professor Sycamore your birth month is August, So lets see how your day will be " She said and turned the page on her device, "Here, t _rouble will come and new feelings will be found_ , hmm I wonder what that could mean, looks like we both will be in trouble today" Serena said while looking at Braixen who just tilted her head in thought ' _Hmm fortune telling is weird'._ Her thoughts were interupted with Bonnie saying "Hey Serena, do mine next!" "Alright, lets see. Here it is _Today will be the worst day you've had all year, you'll be sorry you got up this morning, beware of things made of gold_ " Bonnie made a worried face "What, that sounds bad!" Serena quickly smiled while saying "Don't worry, fortune telling is mostly for fun you only need to listen to the positive things!" Her words barely escaped her mouth before a Shadow Ball came crashing into Chespin and Panchem launching a cloud of dust into the air making it hard to see. "Panchem!" "Chespin!" Serena and Clemont screamed worriedly. "Who could have done this" Ash questioned while looking in the direction the shadow ball came from. There hoovered a very familiar hot air balloon with the face of a Meowth with three very pesky people inside the basket, just below the giant cat face they had some fruit hanging in a net. "Team Rocket!" The gang yelled in unison. "Oh you really have missed us haven't you! Lets make sure we will never be apart again!" James said sarcastically and threw a net towards Panchem and Chespin who hadn't gotten up yet, and began reeling them in. Ash quickly commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on the net. "Haha! The net is electricity proof as usual dumb twerps!" Meowth laughed. Clemont chimed in "Well in that case, Luxray use Swift!" with precision Luxray launched a barrage of golden stars towards the giant Meowth balloon, making it pop. Team Rocket fell to the ground and the net surrounding Pancham and Chespin were cut. When the balloon smashed in to the ground apples came rolling out of the net that were hanging below the balloon earlier. The gang picked up some wondering where they came from

"Hey give those back! Those apples are ours" yelled Team Rocket who had recovered from the crash. In that moment a group of angry Pangoro came stampeding out of a bush above them launching barrages of Focus blasts and Hyper beams at Team Rocket and Ash and friends. Startled Ash yelled "Run for it guys!" They all took off in different directions into the nearby forest dodging and ducking from the incoming attacks. A few minutes later when the panic had settled Ash looked around himself and saw only trees and bushes as far as he could see. Bending over to catch his breath he heard a familiar voice slightly behind him " _Wait up Ash!_ " it was Braixen who came up next to him also out of breath and looking around confused.

"Braixen are you alright?" he asked looking for any signs of injuries on the fox pokemon. She nodded reasurringly and looked around " _I wonder where the others ended up"._

After some time of walking Braixen started to feel worried for Serena and her other pokemon friends. Ash noticed her seeming down decided to try and cheer her up "Don't worry Braixen, I'm sure the others are fine, lets see if we can make it up that cliff there, maybe Fletchinder or Hawlucha will spot us!" He said pointing toward a rather tall cliff. Braixen looked at the cliff Ash was pointing to and nodded intently " _That's a really good idea, lets do it"._ Feeling a bit more motivated she followed Ash's lead up the hill toward the cliff. While walking she thought ' _Ash is really reliable in situations like this, he never gets down or starts to doubt he is constantly focused on solving the problem at hand. That's a thing I admire about him.'_ A sutle smile appeared on her face as the worried feeling she had a moment ago disappeared. Looking around for the slightest sign of the others the two made their way toward the top at a fast pace. "Whoa this cliff is really steep, watch your step Braixen!" Ash reminded the pokemon. Braixen looked down at the impressive drop and the trees that were getting smaller the further up they got, she took one more step away from the edge focusing on the climb at hand. Nearing the top they both reacted to a rustle in a bush nearby, "Maybe one of the others had the same idea" Ash said while approaching the bush caustiously. Braixen were in high alert and ready to grab her twig for defence. Just when Ash was about to check the bush a Pangoro who was still angry came stomping out of the bush scaring Ash. Braixen lit up her branch ready to defend herself and her friend. Pangoro fired off a fearocios Focus Blast towards Braixen. "Braixen use flamethrower!" Ash said reactivly, she did as he said and intercepted the glowing orb with her flames destroying it leaving a cloud of black smoke. Ash looked around for a way to escape the danger but out of the black smoke the Pangoro was running at them while using Hammer arm, Braixen was fast to block it with her stick but was blown back by the force and got pushed off the edge.

"BRAIXEN!" Ash yelled rushing to the edge and the only thought he got to think was 'I want to save her' and he dove off the edge after her. Braixen who was terrified closed her eyes and continued to fall. Ash was stretching after her the best he could while also falling closer to the ground. A moment later he caught up to her and holding on to her for dear life. Braixen who was confused to see Ash holding her had tears in her eyes. 'Alright this is it' Ash thought while feeling the tears getting closer as well. But out of instinct he saw a branch coming closer and he reached out his right hand while holding on to Braixen with his left. He grabbed the branch briefly before the momentum of the fall caught up to him and he lost the grip but he succesfully broke the speed enough for them to land somewhat softly on a patch of grass underneath the tree. He landed on his back with Braixen landing ontop of him.

He coughed as he got the wind knocked out of him and he laid down trying to comprehense what just happened. Braixen who was scared and shocked from the fall began to cry into Ash's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug in an attempt to calm her down.

"There, There Braixen, we are alright aren't we" he said in the softest tone he could muster while stroking her back. Braixen sniffed and continued to cry into his shoulder. They laid on the grass for what felt like an hour and Braixen had finally calmed down. "Braixen are you alright? Are you hurt?" Ash asked concerned about the pokemon. She shoke her head " _I'm alright, thanks to you Ash"_ She blushed slightly and continued to hug him.

'W _hat is this feeling? I know he just saved my life, i'm grateful but now I have this sense of never wanting to let go of him'_ the female pokemon thought.

"we really should be going back to looking for the others" Ash reminded her.

' _Just a little bit more, I want to stay like this a bit more'_ she thought and tightend the hug a bit.

Ash sighed and proceeded to pat her on the head

'Her fur is really soft, i've never really patted her like this before' he tought and leaned backwards on his right hand "Ouch" he groaned.

Braixen looked up at him with worried eyes. "looks like I've hurt my hand" he said

while gritting his teeth. 'it looks really swollen' he thought. "Braixen, lets go and look for the others

so I can get this checked out" He said and patted her head, she nodded and stood up looking around.

"Ah, look there is Fletchinder! HEY DOWN HERE!" Ash yelled catching Fletchinders attention

the bird pokemon flew down to them and landed on Ash's arm. "Hey it's nice to see you again, have you seen any of the others?" Fletchinder shoke it's head. "I see, will you fly up and take a look for us?" Fletchinder nodded and flew off up into the sky. Ash was surprised when he felt Braixen grab his left hand and looked up at him. "What's the matter Braixen, are you still not feeling well?" he asked. For now she decided to nod at the question and play along with that for a bit ' _I don't really know what's going on with me, all I know is that I want to be closer to him.'_ Ash didn't really mind so he let her hold his hand while they followed after Fletchinder. 'I guess she is kind of cute when we are walking like this' Ash thought while glancing down at Braixen who was at last smiling. It didn't take too long for Fletchinder to come back down with good news. "You found someone? That's great lead us to them!" Ash said excitedly. Leading them through a bit of an underbrush Ash made sure to get some of the branches out of the way for Braixen until they made it through and saw a very familiar Honey blond girl. "Hey Serena!" Ash called out, she was with Frogadier and Chespin from the looks of it. Serena turned around to where she heard her name and saw Ash, Braixen and Fletchinder come out from a bush. Serena was a bit surprised when she saw Ash and Braixen holding hands, "Hey Ash, Hey Braixen. Are you alright?" she asked trying not to mind the interlocked hands, when they got closer to eachother Braixen let go of Ash's hand and had a small reunion hug with Serena, the fox pokemon then turned to Ash who explained, "Ah, well my hand is actually kind of hurt" Ash said showing her the swollen wrist. "Oh my! That looks really painful, what happened?" she said while examining it gently. "We had a pretty nasty fall, I'll tell you more about it when we find the others and get to a Pokemon Center." She agreed and watched as Fletchinder took of into the air for another look around. "How about you, are you guys alright Serena?" He asked. "Yeah we are alright Frogadier protected us!" She said while smiling at the frog pokemon. "Good job Frogadier" he said. Chespin at this point couldn't stand being ignored so he shouted while pointing at itself. "And you too of course Chespin" Ash quickly added, which made the little grass type happy again. After a while they heard a voice from behind them, "Hey! Ash. Serena wait up!" they both turned toward the voice and saw Clemont coming from a small trail, with him was Pancham, Pikachu and Bunnelby. "Pikachu!" "Pancham!" Ash and Serena said at the same time. Ash opened up his armes and Pikachu leapt straight into his hug happy to be reunited with his best friend. Serena kneeled down to hug Pancham as well happy to see that he is safe. "Are you guys alright?" Ash asked Clemont.

"Yes we made it safely somehow, Do you know where Bonnie is?" he asked looking around. "What? She isn't with you?" Ash asked looking around worried after the blond little girl. "Fletchinder fly up and have another look please" he added.

"Whoa, what happened to your hand Ash? It looks really bad." Clemont exclaimed surprised once he spotted his friend's hand. Braixen at this point was making a sad face feeling guilty over Ash's injury. Ash noticed the little fox looking at his hand. "Don't worry Braixen, It's not your fault besides it looks worse than it feels" He said smiling at her and patting her gently on the head. "So what happened Ash?" Clemont asked again. "I was going to wait until we got to the pokemon center but might as well talk about it now since the two of you are here." He said scratching the back of his head. He explained what had happened to Serena and Clemont, leaving out the part where Braixen had her emotional moment in case it would embarrass her.

This caused Pikachu to get angry at Ash, " _I can't believe you did that again! It makes my heart stop everytime you jump over edges like that!"_ Pikachu scolded him for doing his usual stunt whenever a friend is in trouble. "I'm sorry buddy" He apologised while scratching the little electric mouse on the chin, which made him forgive his trainer for the moment.

"That must have been really scary" Serena said looking at Braixen who nodded. " _But thanks to Ash's "stunt" we are alright"_ the fox pokemon said smiling at Ash. "In any case we should get your hand checked out by Nurse Joy when we get out of the forest" Clemont said, "but first lets find my sister, I'm starting to get really worried about her" with that said they resumed their search and were hoping that Fletchinder would return with more good news. A few minutes later they heard a lot of noice coming from bushes infront of them "It might be the Pangoro, careful everybody!" Ash said getting ready. Luckily it weren't the Pangoro but it was Hawlucha and Luxray that came from one of the bushes. Releaved they greeted their pokemon "Nice to see you again" Ash said high fiving Hawlucha while Luxray gave Clemont a hug. The gang was almost back together all that was missing was Bonnie. "Well that fortune telling sure was spot on" Serena said after thinking back to earlier today, Braixen nodded to this comment.

'I _change my mind, fortune telling is scary'_ Braixen thought.

"BONNIE! Can you hear me!" Clemont shouted. His words would not be unanswered for long when they all spotted a certain blond haired girl coming running towards them after Fletchinder. "Hey everybody! I'm alright!" She shouted while running towards the group. Clemont kneeled down hugging Bonnie and sighing in relief knowing his little sister was unharmed. But she wasn't alone it appeares that Meowth from Team Rocket was with her. "Why are you here Meowth?" Serena asked in a agitated tone. "Well that's a long story" Meowth began saying but was interupted by three Pangoro showing up from out of the forest. "Come on be a bit useful and tell the Pangoro what is going on Meowth" Bonnie said and pushed him in the direction of the angry pokemon. After a bit of a conversation between the Pangoro and Meowth he said "They are angry because somebody stole their food", They all looked down at Meowth with suspicious looks "Don't tell me..." Ash began but Meowth tried to beg them not to tell on him"Shhh Shh" he said putting a finger to his mouth. After a bit more talking between Meowth and the panda pokemon. "We saw you pick up the apples so we thought you stole it" Meowth translated. "We only picked up the food, it was Team Rocket who really did it." Serena said having had enough of this. And as if by divine comedy Jessie and James showed up just then with all the apples in a net and began spewing their motto. "No please.. Don't" Meowth pleaded but it was hopeless, once those two gets going there is no stopping them. When it got to his part Meowth said "That's right" without thinking and it only just dawned on him what he had done. The Pangoro were besides themselves with anger and unloaded Hyper beams and Focus blasts onto Team Rocket who blasted off..

"There we go! Here is the last piece of fruit" Ash said giving it to Pangoro, the gang had decided to help the panda pokemon get their food back.

The Pangoro apologised for the misunderstanding and let Ash and friends have some of the fruit which they accepted. "Lets go find the Pokemon center now and get your hand treated Ash." Clemont said. "There should be one not to far from here out of the forest" Serena said looking at her map. The gang set out towards the Pokemon center.

The sun had gotten a lot closer to the edge of the horizon and it would get dark pretty soon. Braixen had asked Serena if she could stay out of her Pokéball for the day she felt like she still wanted to be close to Ash although she didn't mention that last part. Serena had no problems with it so she agreed to it. They walked for a while sharing their stories on what happened today.

"It sounds like you really had the worst possible luck, Bonnie" Serena said after hearing what happened between her and Meowth.

"Nah it wasn't all that bad, it was pretty fun at times". Bonnie responded with optimism.

"Look I think I can see it!" Ash said when a P shaped letter was visable over a slight hill.

Braixen was happy to know they were getting close to the Pokemon center so that she can rest easy when Ash gets his treatment. A few more minutes past and they had arrived at the front of the door just as the sun had left the sky allowing the stars to become visable for the night. They entered the Pokemon center and noticed they were the only ones in the lobby at the time. It was very spacious inside and it looked clean and fresh. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center" a familiar looking character behind the counter greeted them.

"Hello Nurse Joy do you think we can stay here for the night." Ash requested when they arrived infront of the counter. "Of course, we have a couple of free rooms tonight so let me get your room key. " She said opening a cabinett. "Thanks Nurse joy." Ash said holding out his right hand to grab the key from her suddenly dropped the key and held his hand in agony. Clemont bent down to pick up the key. "Nurse Joy, can you please take a look at his hand he made a pretty bad fall back in the forest". Clemont said after he picked up the key. "Of course follow me right away and we will take a look" She said to Ash who followed her into a treatment room. Everyone except Pikachu and Braixen stayed outside in the lobby. 'I wonder how those two got so close' Serena thought a bit jealously after watching Braixen follow after Ash into the treatment room as well. "Shall we get some dinner while we wait?" Clemont suggested, Serena and Bonnie agreed and off they went.

Inside the treatment room Pikachu and Braixen was watching when Nurse Joy was examining Ash's hand and had concluded that he had sprained his wrist quite severly she had said that she could treat it and he could relax but he would have to wear a bandage that would restrict his hand motion a bit. After finishing treating his hand by smearing some liniment to stop the immidiate pain and wrapping his hand in a bandage he was declared all ready to go by Nurse joy. Pikachu moved over to sit on Ash's lap to try and comfort him "Thanks buddy and thanks Braixen for coming with me it feels a lot better now. Thanks Nurse joy I really appreciate it!" Ash said smiling at Nurse joy while patting Pikachu on the head with his left hand. "Make sure you let your hand rest and use this herb liniment if you are in pain and you should be fine within one or two weeks." Nurse joy instructed giving Ash. Braixen made her way over to Ash looking relieved that he was feeling better, "See, don't worry about me it takes alot more to bring me down" Ash said straightening up and puffing out his chest jokingly and winked at Braixen. Pikachu and Braixen laughed at his attempt at being cocky. "Alright lets go and see what the others are up to Ash suggested, standing up from the bed Pikachu climbed up to his usual spot on Ash's shoulder and Braixen followed besides Ash toward the Cafeteria.

During their dinner Ash explained the treatment he had received and that it should take about two weeks to heal. Lost in thought Braixen ate her food slowely, she tried to make sense out of the feelings she had right now

' _I wonder why I want to be close to him now when we have already traveled for a time. Is it because he saved me? Then I should just say thank you and move on.. But I've already done that and I still want to be close to him. I don't get it. I know he is a kind and reliable person, he is couragous, determined and actually quite good looking'_ she felt her heart beat faster _. "_ Braixen is something the matter?" Serena asked her pokemon which snapped her out of her thoughts like a balloon popping. The fire type turned her head towards her trainer and shoke her head " _No it's nothing, I was just thinking"._ After that she picked up her pace and finished eating, enjoying the taste of the Pokemon food. "Has everyone finished eating?" Ash asked, the pokemon were all done. "Alright it's pretty late lets get to sleep" he yawned and they moved towards their room. When entering their room they saw that there were four separte beds with the moonlight finding it's way in through the window, the beds looked heavenly to the tired out trainers who had spent the past days camping outside.

They changed into their sleeping gear and got ready for bed. Serena and Bonnie decided they wanted to take a shower before bed while Ash sat down on his bed talking to Clemont who was tinkering on one of his inventions about what kind of gym the sixth gym would be.

Braixen had joined Serena in the bathroom, she wanted an evening groom session before bed. When the ladies came out of the bathroom they found that Ash, Pikachu and Clemont already had passed out on their beds. A sudden idea struck Braixen that she wanted to sleep in Ash's bed, but quickly dropped that thought as it felt awkward for her to do that. Instead she curled up on the end of Serena's bed. "Goodnight" Serena said and got under her blanket and drifted off into dreamland.

Later that night Braixen was still awake, she was thinking about that stuff that was going on today _'Everytime I'm near him now it feels like my chest gets warmer but in a good way and I want more of that feeling. Ugh, now I got that urge to go sleep on his bed again'_ She looked around and saw that everyone was sleeping but her. ' _It couldn't hurt could it? Just for tonight'_ with that thought she felt herself getting excited and her heart beat faster urging her to follow through with her wish. She got up from her bed quietly and moved as if in a trance over to where the black haired boy who saved her life today was resting. She hesitated for a moment when Ash moved in his sleep. But then laid gently down on the end of his bed. Ash felt something at his feet and woke up momentairly first looking at Pikachu who was sleeping next to him then glancing down at his feet noticing Braixen laying on his bed, he smiled for himself thinking how cute she looked just now and went back to sleep. Feeling warmth and comfort on Ash's bed, she finally felt her eyelids increase in weight for each passing second until she too fell asleep with a smile.

Sleeping soundly through the night until the early morning hours Ash woke up feeling some pain coming from his injuried hand. Yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes he then laid eyes on the fire fox pokemon that had found it's way onto his bed before recalling what happened last night. He smiled slightly and tried to get out of bed quietly so that she and the rest of the gang could continue their sleep as it was still very early. In his tank top and boxers he went to the bathroom to put some liniment on his hand, focused on his task and still a little sleepy he didn't notice that Braixen had woken up. "I guess it's still pretty swollen" Ash said quietly. " _Does it hurt?"_ asked the little fox who had made her way over to the bathroom as well, looking at him worried. "I guess it hurts a bit sometimes, but it will be alright soon enough" he answered patting the pokemon on the head. "Did you sleep well last night?" Ash asked with a small grin and winked at Braixen which caused her to blush and look around awkwardly not knowing how to respond.

"I don't mind Braixen. It actually felt pretty comfy with you sleeping there." Truth is he actually felt pretty happy that Braixen had opened up to him, before he thought that she didn't like him at all because she only seemed comfortable around Serena, Pancham, Bonnie and Pikachu sometimes. This response made her face redden some more, but she was happy that he didn't hate it. "Braixen, can you help me for a second? I want to put my bandage back on" He said after he finished smearing his wrist with the herb liniment he had received from Nurse Joy. She nodded " _Of course"._

" Now if you can hold on here, as I wrap my wrist like this" Braixen put her paw on the bandage and held it against his wrist gently. "After a few more laps we're done". ' _For some reason my heart beat faster now that I touch him. What's the matter with me? All I know is that I enjoy spending time with him like this. Maybe that's all I really need to know'._

"And it's done." his words interupted her thoughts. "Thanks Braixen you made it a lot easier"

he said smiling at her. "I was thinking of going for a walk before the others wake up, want to come with me?" to this question she nodded without hesitation which made him laugh.

"Alright let me get my clothes".

He dressed up quietly while Braixen was waiting outside the room.

She was waiting patiently outside the door, smiling at the opportunity of spending more time with Ash, her ears twitched as she heard the door open and out came the human whom she had taken a liking to all dressed up and ready to go, closing the door after himself "Alright lets go" he said to her.

Walking outside the pokemon center, he inhaled the fresh morning air feeling the cool and somewhat humid air energize him. "Morning air really is the best thing" he said breathing out.

The sun was barely visable over the horizon and the plants were still wet with dew.

" _It really is"_ Braixen said breathing in the pure and fresh morning breeze feeling herself relax.

"How about we check out that path over there? It looks like it leads to a lake." he said pointing at a trail that goes a bit downhill. Braixen didn't have any objections ' _Looking at a beautiful sunrise down by the lake sounds lovely'_ the fox thought walking besides Ash. Enjoying their little stroll through a light forest Ash stretched out his arms while walking feeling his muscles relax. Looking up at the human she reached up grabbing his hand feeling the warmth and comfort coming from his hand made her feel good. He looked down at Braixen with a slight blush on his cheeks.

'It feels really cozy walking besides Braixen holding her paw like this' he thought before turning his attention back to the trail they were walking on.

They walked in silence for a few minutes enjoying the stroll and eachothers company before reaching the lake. Coming to a clearing their eyes widened at the sight ahead. A flock of Swanna was floating gracefully along the water surface that was reflecting the incoming sunrays making the water shine. The sunrise was coloring the nearby clouds in amazing shades of red making anyone watching feel warmth and happiness inside. The sun had barely made it's way over the horizon that was clearly visable from their location. "It's really beautiful here!" Ash said while marveling at the pretty place they had found. Braixen was awe struck by the sights that she was seeing.

"Lets sit down and enjoy the scenary for a while" Ash suggested, taking a seat on the nearby grass close to the water stretching out his legs he relaxed looking at the sunrise. Braixen sat down next to the black haired boy nuzzeling closer to his side looking up at him. Ash responded by stroking her back feeling the smooth and soft fur as he ran his hand gently along her back, looking down at the fox that was clearly comfortable by his side. A warmness was growing inside him the more time he spent with Braixen and he was really enjoying her company more than he could have imagined.

Their eyes met and he gazed into her ruby colored eyes that were sparkling like Jewels. They both blushed by the eye contact and quickly looked at something else.

' _I want to stay like this the whole day'_ she thought closing her eyes resting her head against Ash, enjoying the moment.

Meanwhile back at the Pokemon Center the rest of the crew were beginning to wake up. After putting on his glasses Clemont noticed that Ash was missing but Pikachu was still there.

"I wonder where Ash could have gone" he then noticed a small note on the nightstand next to Ash's bed.

" _I woke up early, I'm currently taking a stroll around the area. I will be back before breakfast."_

Finishing the note Clemont smiled "Ash and his overabundent energy".

He then noticed that Serena was waking up as well yawning and rubbing her eyes with a bad case of bedhead.

"Good morning Serena" Clemont greeted her.

"Morning Clemont" she answered in a sleepy tone before looking around. "Do you know where Ash and Braixen went?"

"Now that you mention it she is gone too isn't she? She might have gone on the stroll with Ash, they were looking quite close yesterday." Clemont theorized showing Serena the note.

Serena then remembered Ash and Braixen holding hands in the forest, as well as when Braixen ran off after Ash into the treatment room. She was getting a tight feeling in her chest 'Could it be that Braixen has feelings for Ash?' she thought with jealousy haunting her mind.

"Is something the matter Serena? You've been staring at that note with a look of annoyance for a while now" Clemont asked her.

"What? No it's nothing I was just half asleep when I was reading the note that's all" She smiled reassuringly.

"I'm curious what made them so friendly all of a sudden. I'll ask Ash later" Clemont decided.

"I'll use the bathroom first" Serena said getting out of bed.

"Alright you do that, I'll wake up Bonnie. "Hey Bonnie, It's morning already, wakey wakey" Clemont was gently calling out to his little sister who was sleeping peacefully in her Tyrunt pyjamas.

"Hey beautiful lady, please take care of my brother, he is clumsy but reliable, S'il vous plaît"

Bonnie called out in her sleep.

'What kind of dreams is she having' Clemont thought with a slight blush across his face. "Come on Bonnie it's time to get up and greet the day" he tried again to get her to wake up.

With a big yawn the youngest girl of the group finally opened her eyes.

"Mo-rrning" She yawned.

"Did you sleep well?

"Yeah, I found this really beautiful girl that was perfect wife material for you" Bonnie replied grinning childishly at her brother.

"Bonnie please stop with those things! It's embarassing!" Clemont said blushing. "In any case we need to get ready to move out".

In the bathroom Serena was feeling lost as to what to do, her first pokemon and best friend Braixen is having the same kind of feelings for the same person as she herself is having. Sighing as she was brushing her hair. She looked at the reflection of herself in the mirror while thinking

'But then again maybe she just likes him the way Pikachu does? No no no. That still doesn't explain the sudden closeness. Maybe I should make a move on him before it's too late then?' Serena was deep in thought before hearing a knock on the bathroom door.

"Serena are you done yet? We need to use the bathroom too you know" Bonnie said through the door.

Snapping out of her thoughts "Sorry, I'm done shortly!" she replied finishing up her hair brushing and quickly finishing her hairstyle. She exits the bathroom allowing the siblings the right to use it as well.

"I'll go and find Ash and tell him we will have breakfast soon" Serena said putting on her hat before exiting the room. Pikachu who had woken up wanted to tag along in the hunt for his partner.

Back at the lake the sun had climbed a bit higher in the sky and the surrounding area was hit with much more light then before.

Ash was during the sunrise reminded about the time back at the Orange Islands where Charizard's flame nearly went out and how he had worked hard all night on saving him. He shared that story with Braixen who listened with much interest to what Ash's journey was like before she was involved.

"And that's how I earned the respect of my Charizard. Right now he is training hard in the

Charicific valley together with other Charizard. 'W _ow, he really loves Pokemon and he always try and do what is best for his friends even if it's tough on him.'_ Snuggling up to Ash she wanted to hear more stories. Stroking the back of her head he laughed a bit at her interest in his past journeys. " _How did you and Pikachu meet?"_ Braixen asked wanting to know more.

"Me and Pikachu? Well, It was on my first day on my journey.." he told her about how he had woken up late and that there were no other starters left, which made her giggle a bit. Continuing he told her about how he and Pikachu weren't getting along at all when they first met and how they had angered a hugh flock of Spearow, this made her a bit nervous and clinged onto his arm as he continued his story.

He retelled the part where Pikachu had been seriously injured by the furious Spearow and how he was standing between the Spearow and Pikachu ready to fend of the birds that were diving towards them wanting to finish them off.

"And that's when Pikachu came to my rescue and used up all his energy in a massive Thunderbolt scaring them all away, that's when we both realized that we would always be there for eachother" he finished, looking down at Braixen who he could have sworn was sobbing just now.

' _H-he really is great.. The bravery, compassion and determination that Ash has is so amazing.'_ Braixen thought holding back tears from the story just now.

"Are you okay Braixen" Ash was getting worried because Braixen was looking like she was going to cry.

She looked up at him with teary eyes but despite that she had a smile on her face.

"Did you enjoy the story?" he asked. She nodded and after a sob she throw her arms around his neck and embraced Ash who was stunned but feeling pretty happy by the sudden hug. Moments later he couldn't resist and hugged her back. Feeling her soft fur caress his face and listening to her occasional sobbing he felt himself getting a fuzzy but warm feeling around his chest. They held eachother for a few minutes ignoring time and space only enjoying what was going on between the two of them. Braixen then gently let go of Ash who did the same, they smiled at eachother before returning to looking at the lake.

"I think it's time we head back. The others should be up by now and I'm starting to get really hungry!" Ash said standing up while a growl came from his stomach.

Braixen laughed at his antics before standing up brushing off some dirt from her tail.

"Ash! Braixen!" They heard a voice coming from the forest behind them.

They both turned around to see that Serena and Pikachu were coming down the trail lightly jogging.

"Good morning buddy!" Ash greeted Pikachu who had already reclaimed his spot on his shoulder.

Braixen threw a happy glance at Pikachu and Ash remembering the story she just heard about them. Braixen turned to greet her trainer and friend Serena with a smile.

"Good morning Braixen!" Serena greeted her Pokemon. "So what were you doing here so early?"

"Well, we both woke up early so we decided to take a walk and came across this really awesome lake here." he replied.

Braixen nodded " _We saw this really amazing sunrise!"_ her eyes sparkeled as she remembered the view from earlier.

"Aw, I wish I had seen it too I bet it was really beautiful" Serena said sighing slightly, "Lets go back to the Pokemon Center and eat some breakfast" before turning around she gave Braixen a small glare filled with jealousy and hurt.

That look she received from her trainer made Braixen feel uneasy ' _Have I done something wrong?' B_ efore her thoughts got too deep she felt a hand rub her head gently melting away the negative feelings that were forming just now. Looking up she immediately smiled again

"Lets go Braixen" Ash said smiling at the Pokemon.

Walking through the forest back to the Pokemon Center Serena walked a bit infront of Ash and Braixen with a perplexed expression 'that glare I gave Braixen was really not nice, I don't know what has come over me. Whenever I see those two together I get this tight and uneasy feeling inside my chest.' Looking back she saw Ash and Braixen walking to close to eachother for her to feel comfortable. Reaching the pokemon center they met up with Clemont and Bonnie who were waiting in the lobby for them to return.

"Ah there you are! Lets eat i'm starving" Bonnie said walking towards the cafeteria.

Collecting their food and sitting down by a table they released all their pokemon so that they can have their meal as well.

During the breakfast Serena was checking up on her map. "It looks like we can reach Lavarre city today." she said judging the distance between where they are now.

"Awesome! I'm definitly getting my sixth gym badge for sure!" Ash was getting pumped by the thought of battling another strong gym leader. He turned to his pokemon "Hey guys lets do some intense training today so that we are ready!"

Pikachu, Frogadier, Hawlucha and Fletchinder all cheered in agreement also feeling psyched for the challenge ahead.

Braixen was getting excited as well watching Ash and her friends getting into gym battle mode.

"Can we please finish breakfast first" Clemont tried to be the voice of reason so that things didn't get out of hand.

Ash laughed and scratched the back of his head "You're right, It's just that I get so excited everytime i'm thinking of having gym battles. I better eat some more so that I have plenty of energy to spare" was the last thing he said before he disappeared off to the breakfast buffet again.

"Oh Ash and his superior energy. We can't fall behind either Braixen, Panchem lets practice our performance as well!" Serena said in a motivated speech, her pokemon cheered in agreement.

Ash returned with a plate filled with everything ranging from sandwiches to sausages to eggs.

Braixen stared wide eyed at his plate wondering how all that even could fit inside him before returning to her own efforts.

' _I think today will be a fun day'_ she smiled optimistically.

Minutes later they all finished eating and were gearing up to head out on the road again.

"Alright return guys" all the pokemon except Pikachu, Braixen and Dedenne were returned to their pokeballs. Braixen had once again asked to stay outside, Serena fully understood why without Braixen needing to explain, for a second she considered denying the fox pokemon her wish, in the end she came to her senses and happily agreed to it.

With everybody ready to head out they thanked Nurse Joy for the food and the stay and once again set out on their journey. With the day shaping up to become another fine day with few clouds and a gentle wind carefully brushing through their hair.

Walking along a road through a light forest the gang was nearing their next destination of Lavarre City and Ash's next gym battle.

While walking Serena was looking at her map device that also had a feature of looking up people, she was researching Valerie who is the gym leader of Lavarre City as well as famous fashion designer. "I can't wait to browse through the clothes that Valerie has created!" Serena said excitedly. Everyone turned to face Serena who spoke up.

"Who is Valerie?" Ash asked wondering what peaked Serena's interest.

She turned around her screen so that he could see "She is a designer that has produced a lot of amazing clothes and designs that fit both people and Pokemon!"

"That sounds awesome Serena, maybe you'll find something good for your next Showcase" he replied. "She is also the gym leader of Lavarre city" she added, watching how Ash's look went from happy to a more focused one.

"So that's my next opponent." he said studying the girl inside the screen.

A little bit behind them Braixen was walking together with Pikachu who wanted to talk with her.

" _So Braixen, what's going on between you and Ash?"_ he started, watching how a slight blush came across her face.

" _W-well.. Since yesterday I've been wanting to spend more time with him he is nice and fun to be around"_ she replied looking at the black haired boy infront of them.

" _Yeah he is awesome, I'm really happy that he overslept that day when we met"_ Pikachu's eyes sparkeled with admiration when talking about Ash.

" _He told me about how you met earlier by the lake, the story made me tear up a little"_ She said chuckling. Pikachu chuckled as well remembering Ash running about in his pyjamas when he came to Professor Oak's lab.

" _In any case, It looks like you have taken a real liking to him, did something else happen yesterday?"_ the electric mouse asked curiously.

" _Well, after the fall he was really nice to me when I was scared. Whenever I'm near him now I get this nice warm feeling inside me."_ she answered maybe Pikachu could make sense out of her new feelings. Pikachu smirked slightly having an idea on what was going on.

" _Braixen, to me it sounds like you have feelings for Ash"_ he said watching as another blush struck her face.

Like a puzzlepiece falling into place she realized ' _Of course! That's definitly it!'_ at first she was relieved when she figured out what was nagging her but her next thought was a lot colder she remembered the glare she received from her friend Serena back at the lake and felt a cold shivering feeling creeping up her spine.

" _I-I-I'm in love with the same person that Serena has been in love with this whole time"_ she whispered quietly in a somber tone feeling her heart breaking apart, one side of her felt that she can't be in love with Ash because that would be the biggest betrayal she could ever pull on her best friend. At the same time she was feeling that she can't let go of her new found feelings for him. She loved spending time with him these past days she loved getting to know him better and to be near him. She looked down at Pikachu who spoke up after seeing Braixen's conflicted face, he understood what was going through her head.

" _You know, this might feel like an impossible situation for you but I'll tell you this, I would support you two. If you are happy around him and he is happy around you then I think you shouldn't mind Serena too much, love is love and there is not much you can do about it if you are struck by it._

 _If you find that person or pokemon that makes you feel all warm and happy you should go for it."_ Braixen felt encouraged by Pikachu's passionate words.

" _Wow, I didn't know you were such a love guru Pikachu"_ she said smiling at the little electric mouse who was mimicking his trainer by scratching the back of his head while blushing slightly.  
" _Well if you hang around Mister Dense over there you have to learn a thing or two about that stuff"_

" Hey Pikachu! Braixen! Don't fall behind!" the person they were just talking about called out to them which made them realize that they were quite far behind the humans.  
" _Come on lets join up with them_ " Braixen and Pikachu ran after their trainers catching up to them continuing their journey towards Lavarre City.

* * *

 **Author note:**

Hope you enjoyed this story! Just to explain this shipping incase there were any confusions.

In the real anime there are no hints whatsoever about Braixen having any kind of interest in Ash, but at the same time she doesn't dislike him. So I tried to find some way  
of making this ship float and make some sort of sense. The only way I could think of to make this happen were to change some events in an episode to create a situation where this sort of ship would be possible. In the episode "The Worst Possible Luck? Bonnie VS Meowth!" the gang ended up separated with Pancham going with Ash, for this story I changed places between Panchem and Braixen so that she ended up with Ash and Pancham ending up with Clemont. And knowing Ash if Braixen really fell of a cliff as in this story he would definitly jump off after her.

The reason I wanted this ship to happen was mainly because I like both characters and because I couldn't find any other works on it so I had to make my own and I hope it turned out alright.

In future chapters I want to continue to elaborate the new dynamic between Ash, Braixen and Serena.

Thank you for reading and hope you have a great Morning/Day/Night and stay safe!


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